Expeditions

10 - 14 April 2013 Kia Island in the horizon surrounded by the Great Sea Reef. Google Earth Map - Kia island It was a long 4 hour boat ride from Nukusa Village to Labasa Town where we stayed overnight before heading to Kia Island. We armed ourselves for the next stretch [...]

7 - 9 April 2013 The first time we saw the village of Nukusa from the boat, I thought how wonderfully situated it was. It is not a beachside village like the usual but one that is about 10 metres elevated from the sea. And then on second thought, I looked at all our luggage [...]

7 April 2013 Google Earth Map - Kavewa to Udu Point, the farthest east we got in Fiji. (Click for larger map) Nukusa Village is the 4th to the last village from the tip of Vanua Levu. It is so remote that the villagers need to use up to 40 gallons of fuel [...]

4 - 6 April 2013 A charming activity took the children of Kavewa by storm one overcast Saturday morning. All the school children from Kavewa Village had just come back home for the weekend from their boarding school in Drua Drua (another nearby island) when they were assigned to go pick as much propagules in [...]

4 - 6 April 2013 Emosi Time, son of Kavewa Village chief is known as a Dau ni Vonu or Turtle Monitor. Emosi used to be a turtle hunter, catching turtles for turtle meat offered in traditional Fijian celebrations. Since 2011, Emosi has turned from the dark side and is now a guardian of turtles. Lifting [...]

4 - 6 April 2013 Google Earth map of the Great Sea Reef showing distance we travelled from Mali Island to Kavewa Island. We departed Mali Island soon after our last amazing crab lunch to make it to Kavewa Island with the incoming tide, so we could dock right in front of the [...]

2 - 3 April 2013 Google Earth - Mali Island, Fiji We had a grand opportunity of checking out the Great Sea Reef underwater while in Mali Island. Our Ligaulevu Village host Leone Vokai operates a brand new dive shop called the Great Sea Reef Divers and he invited us to go diving with him. [...]

30 March - 2 April 2013 When we first received our shot list from Patricia Mallam of WWF South Pacific on what to document in the Great Sea Reef, one line jumped out like it was in ALL CAPS and in BOLD LETTERS. MUD CRABS! Split level image of a mud crab (Scylla serrata) in the [...]

30 March 2013 Navakasobu Village, Vanua Levu, Fiji Our wonderful guide and companion Koli Musudroka, WWF Field Officer for Labasa invited us to his village on Black Saturday. He had been telling us about the women in his village weaving a special kind of mat and traditional Fijian wedding costumes made of a reed locally called kuta. So we [...]

Testimonials

“What an incredible workshop! I learned so much about wildlife, camera equipment, techniques and postproduction. Yogi is a fantastic teacher and a remarkable human being. His soft spoken but expert coaching improved my photography immensely and this course was as inspirational as it was informative. I will forever have the memories and skills (and let’s not forget photos!) that I picked up during this workshop. Thanks so much for a truly amazing experience.”

Jenna Rumney – Port Douglas, QLD

“The JCU Nature Photography Masterclass was a wonderful (indeed sublime) experience – a direct result of the effort that Juergen & Stella put into the preparation. Juergen & Stella were the perfect team to lead the Masterclass. Between the two they have just the right blend of enthusiasm, willingness to teach, organisational ability, drive, sense of humour and generosity of spirit. They demonstrated energy and passion during the week with Juergen imparting very generously the technical photogra…

Bruce Terry – Sydney, NSW

“I had the best time and learnt so much from both Jürgen and Stella… and the others! And visited a beautiful part of the world I had never been too… what a bonus! Thank you! This will go down in my memories as one of my best holidays EVER!!!”

Chris McKinnon – Tamworth, NSW

“This was more than a course. Not only did I learn a lot from an experienced, patient, knowledgeable tutor and guide, I had to stretch my limited knowledge and came away with a head and notebook full of tips, tricks and information. The course was well organised and run capably by Stella and Yogi, and the inter-action with the other group members ensured strong friendships were made. The willingness to share experiences and knowledge made for a very pleasant learning experience in an area full o…

Philip Michael – Gold Coast, QLD

“I took Yogi’s photo class with a bunch of friends and family of various different skill levels. Yogi has a lovely, gentle approach to teaching with no ego or B.S. Everyone in the course got something awesome out of it and it was a heap of fun playing with all his toys and gadgets. He was great at explaining complex stuff and made sure no one got left behind.”

Dave Mainwaring – Port Douglas, QLD

“The method was Rogerian with a lot of personal responsibility for learning and largely apprentice mode of instruction. This method suits me. It’s the first face-to-face course I have done and Yogi was a true gentleman. I would do further courses without hesitation as it was an outstanding learning experience.”

Dennis Tannenbaum – Perth, WA

“Juergen Freund is a master at his craft and he tailored his response carefully to each of the participant’s personal skills. He never became impatient even with questions that to him must have appeared inane. I personally benefited greatly from his instruction. I would also like to emphasise that Stella was also a pillar of strength and she contributed greatly to the overall success of the program.”

Robert Prettejohn – Cairns, QLD

“An enjoyable and entertaining fun-course of expertly organised subjects and venues, inspired by Yogi’s enthusiasm and generous sharing of his photographic knowledge and experiences. Thanks Yogi, Stella and Tai.”

Annette Corsi – Innisfail, QLD

“This masterclass was absolutely brilliant and it was obvious that a great deal of planning and preparation had been done prior to the course, making it run extremely smoothly. The locations were amazing with great opportunities for photographing a huge range of wildlife. The skills I developed over the duration of this course have improved my photography immensely. Yogi and Stella are warm friendly people with great patience and knowledge. I thoroughly enjoyed this course and was sorry when i…

Stacey Clark – Bendigo, VIC

“Take a small disparate group of individuals, from a variety of geographical and workplace backgrounds; shake gently in a minibus, pour into a variety of magnificent tropical photo venues; add good food, company and accommodation, and you have the starting blocks for Yogi and Stella’s Masterclass in Nature Photography. Some essential didactic advice and suggestion smooths the way for the main focus on individual mentoring and hands on learning. The advantages of digital imaging in allowing trial…